Four PUSD high schools rank among top in nation

Del Norte High School ranked the highest out of all PUSD schools, coming in at No. 41 of all public schools in California and No. 256 nationwide.

Del Norte High School ranked the highest out of all PUSD schools, coming in at No. 41 of all public schools in California and No. 256 nationwide. (File photo)

Emily Sorensen

Four out five Poway Unified School District high schools ranked in the top 1,000 nationwide by U.S. News & World Report.

More than 20,500 public high schools were ranked across the country in the report, with 5,948 top-performing schools recognized with gold, silver or bronze awards, depending on their ranking and level of college readiness.

Del Norte High School was the top-ranked high school in the district, ranking No. 41 out of all public schools in California and 256 nationwide. The school was given a gold award, with a 99 percent graduation rate and a rank of 69.2 (out of 100) on the report’s college readiness scale.

Poway High was the only comprehensive high school in the district that did not make a top ranking, either state- or nationwide.

The report showed that 75 percent of Del Norte’s 2,032 students took the tests in their Advanced Placement courses and 90 percent of those tested passed. The report also showed Del Norte students had a mathematics proficiency of 72 percent and a reading proficiency of 76 percent.

Rancho Bernardo High School also made the top ranks for the state and nation, scoring No. 162 out of all public high schools in California and 957 nationwide. It earned a silver award, with a graduation rate of 97 percent and a college readiness score of 46.5.

The report showed that 52 percent of the school’s 2,265 students were AP tested and 86 percent passed. It had a mathematics proficiency of 66 percent and a reading proficiency of 83 percent.

Westview High School is ranked No. 69 in California schools and 425 nationwide, according to the report. It was also given a gold award, with a 99 percent graduation rate and a college readiness score of 61.2.

Mt. Carmel High School ranked No. 812 nationwide and 135 out of all public high schools in California. It earned a silver award, with a graduation rate of 97 percent and a college readiness score of 49.3.

Poway High, which did not place in the top rankings and received no medals, was reported to have a graduation rate of 96 percent and a college readiness score of 54.7. The report showed that 65 percent of its 2,250 students were AP tested and 79 percent passed. It had a mathematics proficiency of 54 percent and a reading proficiency of 70 percent, the lowest scores among the five comprehensive high schools.

The report drew information from the U.S. Department of Education’s website, College Board and statewide proficiency tests, according to its website.

U.S. News teamed up with the North Carolina-based nonprofit social science research firm RTI International to produce the rankings. The methodology used for identifying the top-ranking schools was “the best schools must serve all students well and must produce measurable academic outcomes that support this mission,” according to the website.